3D printing is becoming more prevalent today, with a variety of industries that are increasingly looking to adopt this technology to improve their business success. And one of the exciting areas that we've seen 3D printing technology make growing improvement is within the construction industry; it's increasingly being used to print homes around the world.
One company in China, WinSun, has been able to print at least 10 full-sized detached homes in just one day using a giant 3D printer.
The average cost for each of the homes that they built was estimated to be about $5,000.
For the entire 5 storey building that they constructed, it was estimated to cost around $161k.
They don't want to stop at only construction small homes and apartment buildings either. We might some day see them using 3D-printing technology to create much larger buildings, perhaps bridges, and more.
3D-printed housing has also made its way to Europe, with engineering firms moving to construct 3D housing projects, one specifically that was built and later unveiled in Milan. That design is able to have an entire house printed in just 48 hours (see image below).
Even some non-profit organizations have been looking to utilize this technology to bring housing options to the less fortunate in various places around the world, such as El Salvador.
3D printing might play a critical role in helping to solve some of the affordable housing demand that many areas are struggling with.
The organization behind the project is a Dutch construction company that's collaborating with a local university there to see the project fully completed.
In the future, it might become even easier for people to be able to design their own homes and then be able to print them out after they've come up with their unique design. The 3D-printing process, engineers suggest, might enable the homes to be more personalized because of the creative building process.
Not only that but it can also reduce waste, production time, and cost. Construction companies worldwide are looking at 3D printing as a viable business solution to constructing cheaper homes in a shorter amount of time and hopefully that will result in a great deal of new and affordable housing options coming to the market, to alleviate some of the pressure from the current housing crisis that many face.
Pics:
ICON via theVerge
inhabitat
via CNN -cnn.com/style/article/milan-design-week-2018-highlights/index.html
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-27156775
https://www.cnet.com/news/worlds-first-3d-printed-apartment-building-constructed-in-china/
https://newatlas.com/3d-housing-05-arup-cls-architetti/54024/
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/startup-to-make-3d-printed-concrete-homes-for-us-4-000-1.3869268
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/americas-first-permitted-3d-printed-house-was-built-in-texas-in-less-than-24-hours/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/03/03/incredibly-cheap-house-3d-printed-just-24-hours/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/netherlands-set-welcome-worlds-first-functional-3d-printed-house-2019-180969272/
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